Yes, Forest is a band of boys from England. No, they are nothing like One Direction. The young Cambridge five-piece self-produced their Sweetcure EP fresh out of college, in the interest of introducing their feel-good take on garage rock to the world on their own terms.

Their sound is nothing if not referential, with a fine assortment of familiar sounds both new and old -- the reverberant, distorted guitar and bass recall that of Sonic Youth or My Bloody Valentine, and lead songwriter and vocalist Henry Barraclough's delivery is not unlike Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner.

"All of us have been making music since we met at age 14, though Hugo joined us later when we decided we wanted a fuller sound, with more guitar and vocals, and that's when we formed as Forest around a year and a half ago," Barraclough tells Spinner. "We worked on our Sweetcure EP as a way to get away from our end of high school exams, and managed to get it done before our gap year started, which has now let us focus on our music. We've been likened to Dinosaur Jr., Pavement and various shoegaze bands like My Bloody Valentine and Ride, though given the way most of us listen to music, our influences really come from a jumble of songs rather than a specific set of bands that we love."

Back in December, when the list of 2013 Grammy Awards nominees dropped, some of Canada's biggest exports were absent from the list.

While some Canadians complained that Nickelback, Feist, and 18-year-old pop prodigy (and purported pot aficionado) Justin Bieber were snubbed, the folks at Toronto-based indie label Dine Alone Records were doing a happy dance.

That's because the Canadian indie label has three artists vying for a total of five awards at the Grammys -- the Civil Wars (best song written for visual media, best country duo/group performance,) the Lumineers (best Americana album, best new artist) and Marilyn Manson (best hard rock/metal performance).

School of Seven Bells guitarist Benjamin Curtis has cancer, the band revealed via Facebook today.

In a short note, the New York City indie band's singer Alejandra Deheza wrote said that Curtis is suffering from T-cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma:

Anyone with "Grammy-winning artist" in their bio is bound to have an edge. The music industry's ultimate award, after all, affords prestige and opens doors.

Yet, since the industry began handing out the golden gramophone trophies in 1959, artists have kept them in a variety of places. While Alicia Keys recently told reporters she kept her Grammys in a box because she didn't want to flaunt them, Sting once said he kept his in a bathroom because he knew people would see them there.

With this year's Grammy Awards ceremony upon us, we asked several past winners what they do with their trophies.

HENRY ROLLINS

Backstage at the 1995 Grammy Awards ceremony, the former Black Flag frontman was a hit with the media. Casually dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, Rollins -- nominated for Best Metal Performance and winner of Best Spoken Word Recording -- said his plans for the rest of the night entailed sleeping on a futon with his cat.

We already knew plans were in the works for an Atoms For Peace debut album and tour dates, but the details have been a bit fuzzy -- until today. Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich will play a series of live DJ sets dressed up album launch parties to introduce Amok to London, Berlin, and New York in the coming months. [Consequence of Sound]

Devendra Banhart has premiered a new track from his upcoming album, Mala, on Venezuelan music blog Cochinopop. The Spanish-language acoustic ballad is an emotionally straightforward effort, reminiscent of the oft-bearded Venezuelan-American singer/songwriter's Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon (2007). Banhart's reprise of his sound circa-Natalie Portman is refreshing, especially considering his recent penchant for (NSFW) graphic music videos. [Nonesuch]

The first season of "The X Factor" surprised a lot of us in the rock realm. Just because you're a contestant on a reality singing competition doesn't mean you can't be a good songwriter.

Enter Josh Krajcik. He was trying to make ends meet in Ohio, supporting his musical habit while burrito building. Then he landed a spot on Fox's hit show. That's when America got to hear a familiar type of modern acoustic soul -- a sound that Krajcik is pretty darn good at.